Thankful
students gobble up feast
Phillipsburg event is now a tradition
Wednesday, November 24, 2004 • BY REBECCA SCHMOYER
• Star-Ledger Staff
The staff at Phillipsburg school district's School Based
Youth Services fired up their stoves and ovens a few days
before Thanksgiving.
They dressed, roasted and carved a dozen turkeys. They
mashed armloads of potatoes, prepared several gallons of
corn and a vat of gravy.
The flavorful results of their efforts were served up at
a Thanksgiving feast held at the National Guard Armory.
Finishing touches, such as paper plates and napkins with
turkey motifs and complementary party favors including packs
of M&Ms, were set on the 14 tables lining the building's
recreation room.
The honored guests? About 80 Phillipsburg students in
grades 6 to 12.
"They all make great food. It's a really awesome
supper," said Josh Rose, an eighth-grader at Phillipsburg
Middle School. "I asked my mom to drop me off here."
The Thanksgiving bash has been held for the past 12
years for middle school students who participate in REACH --
an acronym for Recreation, Education, Aspiration, Community,
Health -- and high school students in the school's Drop-In
program. Many of the kids are from low-income families, said
Joanne Flynn, director of the middle school's REACH
program.
The staff holds the program each year because the kids
enjoy it so much and are always so appreciative, said Carol
Rusche, a mental health counselor with School Based Youth
Services who helped put together the event.
Each year they have some theme that has to do with
giving thanks. This year's theme is the "Thanksgiving
Tree."
The food and supplies for the dinner were donated by
Norwescap Food Bank, Panera Bread Co. and ShopRite of
Greenwich, said William Horn, who has directed School Based
Youth Services for four years. His agency oversees both the
REACH program and the Drop-In program.
"We do all the cooking," said Flynn. "The kids feel it's
kind of a special event. They like the tradition of the
dinner. A lot of them have older brothers and sisters who
came to the dinner in the past. We've had an increase in
attendance every year. It's something they look forward to
doing."
Fourteen-year-old Albert Ford, a freshman at
Phillipsburg High School, has attended the dinner four years
in a row.
"The atmosphere here is so familylike. It's like I have
Thanksgiving dinner here the first time and then go home and
have it again," he said.
After dinner, the students decorated a "Thanksgiving
Tree" with red, yellow and orange paper leaves they
inscribed with things they wanted to give thanks for.
"I'm thankful for having everybody here," said
13-year-old Crystal Schubert, a middle school student. "And
I like having the dinner here. It's makes today more special
than other days."
Horn said staff with School Based Youth Services and
REACH offer students free counseling, coach after-school
recreation programs and arrange medical and dental
assistance. They also offer tutoring, hold an annual
Christmas caroling night and teach a kids' nutrition and
cooking class.
Jeancarlo Canales, 13, said he usually likes to hang out
at the armory to play Frisbee and soccer with his friends,
but today he came especially to eat turkey. He added, as he
hung his leaf on the tree, that he would give thanks for the
health of his family and also for his good grades so far
this year.
As he hung his maple leaf on a branch, Josh said this
was the third time he had come to the Thanksgiving
party.
"I decided I was thankful for other people's kindness,"
he added.
Rebecca Schmoyer can be reached at
rschmoyer@starledger.com or (908) 475-1218.
© 2004 The Star-Ledger. Used by NJ.com with
permission.
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